Blade haft



Jan. 18, 1938. LAVERTY 2,105,663

BLADE HAFT Filed Oct. 3, 1955 r if? f i122 F 27 12 :2 i I 6 i L 4 2 5 195 an; 6 1o 9 U125 5 19 16 HqZ g medzfoiow? Patented Jan. 18, 1938 UNITEDSTTES PATENT OFFICE Application Gctober 3,

2 Claims.

My invention relates to the cutlery art and particularly to a haft formanipulating an item of cutlery.

The invention has for an object to prowde a haft or handle in which ablade may be telescopically supported by means tending to prevent theblade from being withdrawn except upon actuation of said means in aprescribed manner. Another object of the invention is to provide a bladeclasping or supporting element, movable with respect to the haft and ofsuch a form and construction as to enable separation or disassembly ofthe blade from the other component parts of the construction. Thus, theinvention provides means whereby razor blades of the safety razor typewhich have heretofore been discarded after ordinary use, may be utilizedto a considerable advantage by mounting or assembling the same with thesaid blade supporting element and, with due regard to safety, using theblade in conjunction with the haft of my invention. The uses to whichthe blade may thus be put when mounted and guarded are multiple, and theconsiderable waste resulting from discarding such used blades isreduced.

The invention has for a further object to provide resilient means forsupporting and guiding said blade supporting element with reference tothe haft and to its movement with respect thereto. Said resilient meansoperates to prevent transverse play as between the haft and elementwhile the Same are in telescopic or blade covering relation and also toprevent binding between the element and the haft when they are beingmoved with respect to each other to or from said telescopic relation.Another object of the invention is to provide means, acting in conjunction with said resilient means, for automatically locking the saidelement in any of a variety of positions with reference to the haft andsaid telescopic or blade covering positions. Said last named means, whenthus locked, cooperates with said resilient means to prevent endwisemovements of the said element with respect to the haft, as well as theaforementioned prevention of transverse movements, despite anapplication of considerable end thrust to either the haft or bladesupporting element.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a combination of ahaft of inexpensive construction, a supporting element for any of avariety of blades, razor or otherwise, slidably supported within thehaft, and a spring member bent and disposed with reference to both theelement and haft to provide a resilient guide and bearing 1935, SerialNo. 43,396

means as between the said haft and element and an automatic handreleasable locking means for allocating the said blade supportingelement with reference to the haft. A further particular object is toprovide means for preventing the blade supporting element from beingwithdrawn completely from the haft in any but a prescribed direction andto a safe place thereby reducing the danger of handling the blade, asduring replacement thereof.

The invention consists in other features and advantages which willappear from the following description and upon examination of thedrawing. Structures containing the invention may partake of differentforms and may be varied in their details and still embody the invention.To illustrate a practical application of the invention, I have selecteda blade haft and a modification thereof embodying the invention asexamples of the details thereof that contain the invention and shalldescribe the selected structures hereinafter, it being understood thatvariations may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention. The particular structures selected are shown in theaccompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawing illustrates an enlarged perspectiveview of a blade haft partaking of the features of my invention andselected for purposes of illustration, showing the blade and bladesupporting element in an extended position. Fig. 2 illustrates alife-size side view of a blade haft with the blade and blade supportingelement shown in telescopic or blade covered relation. Fig. 3illustrates an enlarged view of a section taken along the plane of theline 33 indicated in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 illustrates an enlarged view of alongitudinal section of the haft shown with the blade supporting elementin a position of full extension with reference to one end of the haft.Fig. 5 illustrates a life-size side view of a modified form ofconstruction to that shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive.

A blade haft partaking of the features of my invention is preferablyformed of stiffened sheet material bent or formed to define an innerchamber open at either end. The haft may have provision for connectingit to a retaining chain or cord, such as a watch chain and the like.Slidably mounted Within the chamber is an element, also preferablyformed of stiffened sheet mate rial, bent or formed to have portionsdisposed in resilient proximity to each other between which may beforcibly moved and located the shank portion of a blade, such as a razorblade. Mounted in another portion of the said element is a resilientmember having portions, some of which bear resiliently on the wall ofthe said chamber and serve to guide the element in movement with respectto said wall and prevent transverse movement or rattling of the elementwithin the chamber. Other of the portions of the resilient memberoperate in conjunction with the haft and portions thereof toautomatically lock the element in a variety of positions with referenceto said haft and to cooperate with first named portions of saidresilient member to prevent en-dwise movements of the element withrespect to the haft when locked.

Referring to the drawing wherein, as aforesaid, a blade haft selectedfor the purposes of illustrations, is shown, it will be noted that thehaft is preferably formed of sheet metal bent to define a chamber 2. Thechamber 2 has open ends 3 and 4 and a slot-like side opening 5. A hole 6may be formed in the metal of the haft by means of which the haft may beconnected to a retaining chain or cord. The chamber 2 provides amagazine or retreat in which a blade, such as the illustrated safetyrazor blade 8, may be movably supported by a blade supporting element 9.

The blade supporting element 9 is formed preferably of a sheet metalblank first bent substan tially to a U-shape throughout its length. Theedges 1 of one end portion l9 of the element 9 are preferably beveledand bent so that the said edges and the inner surfaces of the element 9adjacent to said edges resiliently close the open side of the U-shapedblank in that portion and thereby provides a resilient clasp for theblade 8 which may be forcibly inserted between said edges l and surfacesadjacent thereto. Thus the blade 8 is firmly but removably held by theelement 9 which is adapted to be inserted through the open end 4 of thehaft into the chamber 2 with the portion l9 and mounted blade 8 leading.One edge |3 of the remaining or body portion l l of the element 9 islocated with respect to an edge I5 of the slot opening 5 in edge to edgerelation, sufiicient clearance being had to permit free movement of theelement through the chamher.

The element 9 may be moved freely in the chamber 2 and may be directedto extend the portion H) with the blade 8 outwardly through the open end3 of the haft. In order to prevent the element 9 from being drawncompletely through the open end 3 and to thereby prescribe its removalfrom the haft only from the open end 4 for safety of handling, a stop ordetent i2 is formed on the haft which detent extends into the open end3. The detent I2 is adapted to engage a shoulder M on the element 9formed by the closing of the edges of the blank to form the portion I!)at a point where the portion ||l joins the remaining or body portion llof the element 9. Thus it will be seen, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of thedrawing, that the element 9 and the blade enclasped thereby may be drawnthrough the open end 3 only a distance as defined by the shoulder l4 andits engagement with the detent l2 and that, in order to entirely removethe element 9 and its associated blade from the haft, one must Withdrawthe same through the open end 4. By restricting the removal to the openend 4 it will be appreciated that in the course of removal the portionll of the element will first be presented to the user and forms areadily claspable handle that may be manipulated with safety to effectthe complete removal of the element from the haft for purposes ofsubstitution of the blade and the like. I

In order to guide the element 9 in its movement in the chamber 2 and toprevent vibration or transverse rattling movements of the element in thechamber, a resilient means is preferably supported and carried by theportion II of the element 9. In the form of construction shown in thedrawing, said means is embodied in a spring |E, which is preferably bentand disposed as hereinafter described. One end ll of the spring I5 has aslightly bowed portion is joining a portion l9 which is bentsubstantially at right angles to the portion 9. The portion 9 connectswith a portion 29 and extends substantially at right angles to theportion l9 and substantially parallel to the portion 59. The portion 20is bent upon itself to form a loop 2|. The portion 29 is joined by aportion 22 extending substantially at right angles to the portion 29 andsubstantially coaxial with the portion Hi. The portion 22 is bent uponitself to form a loop 29 and a tail 25. The tail 25 is bowed around theextremities of the portion 29. In assembly, the end i! and the bowedportion |8 are located so as to bear on the channel of the body portionII of the element 9, and the portions l9 and 22 extend between the sideWalls of portion H and the sides of the chamber 2 to locate the loop 29resiliently against an edge wall of the chamber 2, as shown at 26. Thus,the loop 24 serves as a resilient guiding and bearing foot in themovement of the element in the chamber 2 and also prevents transversemovements or rattling of the element in the chamber in planesparallel toa plane extending through the side edges of the thamber and element,

Preferably the lead strand of the portion 22 forming the loop 24 is bentso as to resiliently bear against the wall of the chamber 2 at a point21, and the tail portion 25 is bent to resiliently bear against the saidwall at a point 29 substantially opposite to the point 2?. Further, theportion 9 is preferably bent to bear resiliently against a side wall ofthe element 9, as at the point 29, and the tail 25 is bent to bearresiliently against an opposite side wall of the element 9, as at thepoint 39. Thus, transverse movements or rattling of the element 9 withrespect to the haft in planes extending through the sides of the haftare also prevented.

In order to lock the element 9 in any of a variety of positions withreference to the haft, the loop 2| is bent at substantially right anglesto the portion 29 and to a plane extending through the portions |8, l9,and to form a releasable catch. Said loop 2| is urged tomove by theleading and return strands of the portion 20 and in a direction awayfrom the edges of the element 9 and is guided in its movement by a slot35 formed in a wall of the element 9. The loop 2| is adapted to engagethe haft and lock the element with reference thereto by entering intoone of a plurality of slots 36 formed at various points in the Wall ofthe chamber 2 along the line of movement of the, element 9 therethrough.Thus, as the slot 35 is brought into registration with the one of theslots 36, one of the strands of the loop 2! is automatically caused toenter said slot 36. The leading and return strands of the portion 29forming the loop 2| thereby bridge and interjoin the element 9 and haftto lock the element 9 and blade 8 at any of a variety of positions, twoof which are illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. When it isdesired to move the element 9 with reference to the bait l, the loopZI-may be manually depressed against the tension of the'portion 28 tomove the strand from engagement with the particular slot 35 whereuponthe loop 2! may be utilized as a control handle for moving he element 9and blade 8 with respect to the haft I. Thus the bait i may be supportedin the palm of a users hand with the loop 2| extending upwardly, and themovement and operation of the loop 25 may be eifected by manipulation ofthe thumb of the said hand to vary the relative position of the elementto the bait.

When the element 5 and the haft I are interlooked, a considerable endthrust force may be applied to either the bait or the element withoutchanging the established locked position or endangering theconstruction. By reason the relation of the loop blend the bowed endportion it to the strands of the portion 20 forming the loop 5 on eachof which such endwise directed force first acts, it will be seen thatforce will be transmitted to the said loop 2d and bowed end portion 58causing them to bear against their respective seats on the walls of thebait and element respectively with increasing pressure and thus furtherresist endwise movements of the element and haft. It is to be furthernoted in this connection that torque as between the element 9 and haft iis prevented by the interengagement of the edges 53 of the element andiii of the haft l as shown in Fig. 1.

I appreciate that the spring member 55 may be formed in other ways thanthat which I have described hereinabove and still partake of thefeatures of my invention. One of such modifications is shown in themodified structure illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawing. A haft 31 likeunto the heretofore described haft I in all respects except that ofbeing in reduced dimension, and a blade supporting element 38 like untothe blade supporting element 9 in all respects except that of being inreduced dimension are combined with a modified spring member 39. Thespring member 32 has a bowed end portion 59 which adjoins a portion Mbent to extend at substantially right angles to the end portion 40. Theportion ii is bent upon itself to form a loop 62, the return strandbeing located substantially parallel to the leading strand of theportion 4!. The returnstrand of the portion 4| joins a portion 53extending substantially at right angles to the portion ii and extendingparallel to the end portion 5. The said portion 43 may be bent uponitself to form an end loop 44. In assembly the end portion 40 is locatedin a position in the element 38 corresponding to the position of theportion l8 of the preferred form and operates in a like manner. Theleading strand of the portion Al is located in a. position in theelement 38 and haft 31 corresponding to the positions of the portions l9and 22 of the preferred form. The loop 62 resiliently bears against thewall of the chamber defined by the haft 31 and operates in fashionsimilar to the operation of the loop 24 of the preferred form. The endloop 44 is bent substantially at right angles to the portion 43 and to aplane extending through the portions 40, 4|, and i3 and forms areleasable catch which operates in a manner similar to that describedwith reference to the loop 24 of the preferred form. The structure ofFig. 5 besides illustrating a modified form of structure as above noted,also shows an embodiment wherein a half or partial blade, such as thebisected razor blade 46, may be used.

I claim:

1. A blade haft having portions thereof formed to substantially define achamber, the chamber having an opening, a blade supporting elementslidably movable in the chamber and outwardly through the opening, aslot formed in the chamber wall, one edge of the slot adapted to abutagainst the blade holder element along a longitudinal edge of said bladesupporting element to prevent angular movement of the holder withrespect to the haft when the holder is located in an extending positionthrough said opening, and a resilient means mounted on the holder andmovable therewith extending between the holder and the wall of thechamber to yieldingly resist movements of the member toward the chamberwall to resiliently guide the movements of the member toward and awayfrom the said opening and to positively resist torque movements of themember with respect to the haft.

2. A blade haft having portions formed to substantially define achamber, the chamber having an opening, a blade supporting elementslidably movable in the chamber and outwardly through the opening, aslot formed in the chamber wall, one edge of the slot located insubstantially the same plane as a portion of the slidably movable bladeholder, whereby angular movement of the blade holder element withrespect to the haft is prevented by abutting of the slot edge andextending portion of the blade holder element when the holder element isextending through the opening and is located in a position of use.

ERNEST L. LAVERTY.

